


The Unknown

by causticfuck



Category: Green Creek Series - T.J. Klune
Genre: Alternate Universe, Best Friends, Canon Rewrite, Demons, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Magic, Non-Graphic Violence, Platonic Relationships, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2020-06-09 20:15:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19483195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/causticfuck/pseuds/causticfuck
Summary: Gordo was surprised.Ox was different, he knew. But just how different, Gordo was just then coming to realize he might never know the full, honest answer. Every time he saw Ox, Gordo learned a new truth about the universe.Ox released his breath, and Gordo knew.





	1. Beginnings and Endings

**Author's Note:**

> An au where the Bennett's never moved and Ox isn't quite what he seems.
> 
> ***
> 
> Let me know any mistakes! I try to catch them as I go, but shit happens.  
> Comments and Kudos make my year! Thanks! HMU on tumblr! @Causticfuck

Joe was loud.

Screeching laughter and ear-piercing cries filled the Bennett house whenever he was awake. He was playful and energetic. His giggling trailed after Carter and Kelly as they played in the forest lining their property.

His brothers. His pack.

Joe loved them. They'd protect him from anything. They'd fight anyone.

So Thomas and Elizabeth felt safe, comfortable as they left them to roam the territory, to come home.

So when the worst happened, no one expected it. No one saw it happen, and no one knew where Joe went.

He was gone.

Poof.

Elizabeth and Thomas sat on the couch in their living room with Carter and Kelly at their feet. Mark sat nearby on the armchair, while Gordo paced a hole into the carpet. His mind elsewhere as he thought of what to do.

"He's gone?" Gordo barked.

Thomas growled a warning.

"Yes, Carter and Kelly were wrestling in the backyard," Elizabeth elbowed Thomas. "They couldn't see him, or smell anything."

Gordo bristled, but stopped pacing. "I have an idea, but I need all of you to stay here." He stopped and looked pointedly at Mark. "All of you."

Mark huffed, but otherwise stayed quiet.

"Good, I'll be back," Gordo left in a hurry.

His plan was nowhere near thought out, but he knew one person that could do this. One person that knew the territory and still held a grudge against Thomas.

Richard.

Thomas's second before Mark. They were once best friends. Gordo remembered when Thomas and Richard were inseparable, when he couldn't get near his own alpha.

Gordo didn’t really have a plan, but he knew someone who might have an idea. The Bennett’s neighbor, his own employee. Curtis Matheson. Gordo knew very little about the quiet man, other than his love for his son and knowledge for cars. Even so, the aura around the human was familiar, yes he’d know something.

So, Gordo purposefully walked across the Bennett's lawn and to the house at the other side of their rural culd-e-sac. 

A house that used to belong to the Bennetts, before the Mathesons moved in.

A house that used to be full and lively, now quiet and closed off. 

The Bennett pack had once been a large collection of families, they lived in this house and in town. Green Creek was once full of wolves, even stretching into surrounding towns. Thomas’s territory stretched through most of Oregon and over into Canada. 

Now it was just Thomas, Elizabeth, their kids, Mark, and Gordo. Their pack had been attacked not long after Kelly had been born. Years before Thomas was ready to take over the pack from Abel. Before Gordo was ready to be the witch of the alpha, the leader’s right hand. 

Years ago, they were attacked. By hunters, only out for a specific breed, thought righteous in their intent but only by those who followed their creed. Gordo remembered their leader, Elijah.

She had a vendetta against Abel for the sole reason of being Alpha of All, like every Bennett alpha before him, like Thomas now, like Joe would be. All because a group of Omegas ambushed the Hunter’s town and killed her father. Wolves not tied to Abel, not even to be controlled. That’s not how omegas work. 

Gordo remembered meeting her in the small diner in town, a brief encounter while she goaded him into revealing who, what, he was. Their witch, a Livingstone. He’d known as she walked away what was happening, but she stalled him too long to be able to do anything. He’d just missed his opportunity. He was only a teenager, but he knew he could do it. 

He’d gotten their right as she’d ripped into Abel. He could see Richard bow up to strike out at Thomas. So while he’d been unable to save the pack from a gruesome massacre, he’d been just in time to save Thomas’s life. 

He had run in with Richard once. Richard wouldn't get away this time.

Gordo felt more resolved in his intentions as he knocked on the Matheson’s front door. He could see their son Ox’s head peeking out from a yellow curtain in the kitchen. Wary, curious. Gordo smiled, laughing softly, and waved as the door opened. Curtis stood there with a mild look of surprise.

“Gordo? Sir, what can I do for you?” Curtis stepped onto his front porch and closed the door behind him.

“Curtis, yes. There has been a little bit of a situation with my partner’s family,” Gordo gestured vaguely behind himself at the Bennett’s home. “Their son has gone missing, and I was wondering if you had anyway to help us find him.” Gordo kept himself from asking directly, didn’t want to spook the older man.

“What a shame,” Curtis visibly hedged. “None of us have seen anything, and I don’t know of anyone with ill-intent toward the Bennetts.”

“That’s not what I’m asking of you, Curtis,” Gordo let his magic-filled tattoos roam across his arms. The crow lifted its wings, the roses unfurled, and its vines wrapped protectively around his wrists. “I know you can help me find the missing Bennett, I can feel it pulsing off you.”

Curtis flinched, “I thought.” He sighed. “I didn’t think anyone could tell. Okay, I’ll help you, but just this once. Maggie doesn’t know, she will never know.” Curtis made meaningful eye contact as he waved vaguely over his shoulder.

Not even a minute later, Ox quietly made his way out onto the porch with them.

Curtis made another gesture at Ox before he can speak and asked, “Do you have anything that was personal to the child? Anything he’d be attached to?”

Gordo thought and nodded his head. “Give me a minute, I’ll go grab it.”

He quickly made his way back to the Bennett’s house, went inside and upstairs before anyone could ask him what was going on. 

Once he got to Joe’s room, Gordo paused to look around. He knew Thomas would keep it in this room. Near where Joe slept. 

He knelt by the bed and opened the drawer in the night stand. Near the back was a nondescript black box. Gordo sighed in relief as he pulled it out and opened the box to be sure.

A gray stone statue of a wolf rested on a soft cloth. Five inches from snout to tail, only three inches tall. Exactly what Gordo expected, beautiful in its simplicity. He packaged it back up and left just as quickly as he came in.

He made it back to the Matheson’s front porch in under five minutes.

He gave the box to Curtis who carefully opened the box and presented to contents to Ox. Who seemed to inherently know what was happening, what to do. He picked up the small statue and held it in both palms, cradling it. Ox closed his eyes and brought his hands toward his face. Ox took a deep breath and his eyes opened suddenly, his irises glowing. They were a dark gold instead of his usual bright green. 

Gordo was surprised.

Ox was different, he knew. But just how different, Gordo was just then coming to realize he might never know the full, honest answer. Every time he saw Ox, Gordo learned a new truth about the universe.

Ox released his breath, and Gordo knew. 

He knew, intrinsically, where Joe was. Where Richard was keeping him.

Gordo would have hugged Ox, but he didn’t know if that was okay. So, he settled for a quick thank you before packing up Joe’s wolf statue and ran to his truck. 

He had to get across town before Richard could move again, he didn’t know how long whatever Ox had done would last.

Gordo drove as fast as his old truck could in the winding mountain roads. He felt so connected to Joe from what Ox had done, he could almost hear his thoughts and felt as though he were there, as though he was the one taking Richard’s torture. It chilled Gordo to the bone.

Whatever magic Ox had, it was not of this world, it was not due to nature. Gordo pushed the train of thought away, he’d convince Curtis to talk to him later. Right then, he had to save Joe. For his pack, for his alpha. 

Richard made the mistake of staying in their territory, of thinking he was safe in his old home. He was wrong. Green Creek, especially, was where Gordo was strongest. Their territory gave him strength, gave him a firm grip, steady ground. 

Gordo pulled his truck over at the mouth of a long driveway that lead to where Richard was, to Joe. He hopped out and as quickly and stealthily as he could made it toward the house at the other end. He let his tattoos roam his skin, reached out with his magic.

He could feel Richard and Joe, they were in the same room near the back of the house. Through Ox’s steadily fading magic, Gordo felt Joe’s panic and pain. Anger flooded Gordo, he slammed through the house with his magic and rushed in to stop Richard. 

He caught the larger man by the throat and threw him away from Joe.

“Go, Joe! Run!” Gordo yelled over his shoulder and trusted the boy to listen, to get to his truck.

He kept his attention rapt on Richard, but open for others to rush him. Richard always had followers.

He pushed the man with his magic, held him to the wall. He didn’t ask for an explanation, he didn’t need or want one. He knew the others would wonder and ask, but Gordo knew that wouldn't help, wouldn’t fix anything. So he pushed against Richard with an almost bone crushing force as he stepped into the hallway. 

He kept pushing, and squeezing, as he came closer. As Richard’s own screams filled the house. Replacing Joe’s with Richard’s. Gordo felt better about the interaction than he should, killing Richard only solved part of their problem. But the satisfaction was almost too much. He watched as Richard turned blue, his eyes flashed a bright, eerie purple. Richard couldn’t breath and Gordo held him like that for longer than necessary before pulling back. 

Gordo used his magic to disfigure Richard’s body and made it look like a rabid animal came into the house and attacked the owner. Humans didn’t need to investigate too much.

Usually, after that much magic use Gordo would be exhausted. But, then in that moment he was full of adrenaline and aching for a fight. That was too easy, but he was determined to take it at face value.

Gordo went back to the truck and found Joe curled up and asleep in the floor on the passenger side. With a soft smile he got in the driver’s seat and took his nephew home.

Gordo carried the still sleeping boy into the house, to his parents.

Thomas and Elizabeth swarmed him immediately. Thomas pulled the obviously injured Joe away from him and cradled the boy to his chest. A weight lifted from his shoulders, but an obvious question in his eyes. Gordo waved off the look.

“See to Joe, I will explain what I can tomorrow,” Gordo grabbed Mark’s hand. “Go sleep, it’s late.”

Gordo watched as Thomas resigned to himself that Gordo wouldn’t budge. He and Elizabeth went upstairs to their bedroom to watch Joe as he slept and healed through the night. Physically, the boy would be fine by the next afternoon. Emotionally, they wouldn’t know until he woke up. 

Gordo sighed and tugged Mark to the spare bedroom the Bennetts had made up specifically for them. He was too tired to drive and knew his wolf wanted to be close to Joe through the night as well.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some plot/world building to get into the thick of how much I've changed to make this work/more happy in the beginning. :) I'm working on chapter three already and might post it soon

Joe was quiet. Eerily so, after years of loud and boisterous the Bennetts were thrown. Unsure.

He kept to himself. He barely ate, kept physical contact to a minimum, and could barely sleep. Carter and Kelly had taken to sleeping with him in the middle of the living room. They curled protectively around him, their soft breathing and intermittent rumbling snores helped Joe relax enough to doze but not quite sleep.

What had only been days with Richard felt like weeks. Scenes in Joe’s head played back on a near constant loop, running through what actually happened and everything Richard explained he would do once he got the chance. To him, to his family, to other wolves. 

Richard’s voice narrated his days, haunted his movements, tainted his thoughts. 

Until.

One Sunday, Gordo was inviting a friend. From work.

Joe could hear Gordo’s truck as he turned into their driveway, could smell him. And his friend. Who smelled so familiar and yet so strange all at once. Like it was simultaneously like he’d smelled them everyday and never before. 

It was pine cones and candy canes. Epic and awesome.

It was like a new life was breathed into Joe, He jumped from the porch and bounced around the truck until Gordo’s friend finally opened the door and came out. Joe attacked him, climbed Gordo’s friend like a tree, and asked a flurry of questions like he needed them to breathe. All he needed was this smell to stay around forever.

“Who are you? Why do you smell like that? Where are you from? Why has Gordo never brought you by before?” Joe was face to face with the dark haired boy, clinging onto him to stay upright and level with the tall boy’s face. “Really, why do you smell like that? You’re like pine cones and candy canes, like epic and awesome.”

The boy gave a shy smile and a soft laugh. “Oxnard Matheson, I live next door, and it’s how I’ve always smelled. I guess?” He finished off with a lilting question to his tone and a stunted shrug so he didn’t jostle Joe too much. Joe’s knees squeezed Ox’s torso to hold himself up.

Joe grinned at him and climbed down to stand on the ground again, he grabbed Ox’s hand. “Well, Ox, I’m Joe Bennett. Would you like to sit next to me at dinner?”

Ox followed Joe into the house, “Uh, sure? That sounds fine.” He threw a look over his shoulder at Gordo as the man closed the door.

“Mom! This is Ox! he’s Gordo’s friend! And I think I want him to be mine!” Joe bounced toward Elizabeth and dragged Ox into the kitchen.

The spoon she was holding clattered to the floor.

“Joe! That’s great, honey! Nice to meet you, Ox,” She smiled over at them and tried to be smooth about picking up and washing the spoon she’d dropped. “Dinner’s almost ready, why don’t y’all go have a seat and wait for us to bring out dinner?”

“Yes ma’am, come on Ox!” Joe beamed and tugged Ox’s hand ad he led him away. 

Elizabeth smiled while they went out to the sunroom, the floor to ceiling windows and ceiling fans helped to keep the room cool even in the summer months. The Bennetts tended to eat out there rather than the dining room because the area was larger for their family and the view of the property was breathtaking. 

Carter and Kelly were sitting on one side of the table. Carter playfully shoved Kelly as they argued lightly. They both paused at the same time and looked over. Startled by Ox, and Joe’s newfound liveliness.

“Hey!” Carter sat up straight, “You must be Gordo’s friend? Ox? Don’t you live next door?”

Joe perked up, visibly invested in the answer Ox would give.

“Yeah, I moved here with my parents when I was three,” Ox flushed under the collective attention.

“You didn’t even introduce yourself, idiot,” Kelly smacked Carter on the arm. “I’m Kelly, this is Carter.”

Joe pulled Ox to sit opposite his brothers.

“It’s nice to meet y’all,” Ox’s soft voice didn’t match his large frame. 

The next hour was a flurry of family and getting to know the large, slower-paced boy Gordo brought over. Joe was vibrating in his excitement through most of dinner. He actually ate, especially after he caught Ox giving him a concerned glance as Joe pushed his food around his plate.

Joe lost himself in the rumble of conversation as everyone sat around the living room after dinner. Ox stayed because it was still early and his mom was at work until late. They sat together on the floor in front of the couch Kelly and Carter were sprawled over. Joe couldn’t stay awake after so long without sleep. Finally comfortable, finally without Richard’s voice floating through his thoughts.

His head hit Ox’s shoulder as a soft snore came out of his mouth. Ox stared wide-eyed at him, obviously startled by the tornado that was crashing through his known truths left and right.

Gordo laughed at the obviously distressed look Ox was giving him, “It’s okay, he hasn’t been sleeping well lately.”

Ox relaxed and his back hit Carter’s leg, who was looking at him with a curious expression. The collective comfort in the room, even though Ox was new to their family, was like a warm blanket in the winter. Even Thomas and Elizabeth were comforted by Ox’s presence.

x-x-x-x

It was as though a new life was breathed into the Bennett household.

Joe sat in the sunroom after finishing his coursework while Elizabeth painted. She’d recently started a pink phase, the abstract shapes and seemingly random brush strokes turned into surprisingly beautiful works of art. What for her would just be stress relief was a masterpiece to someone else. Not that she sold them.

Joe was trying to convince her and Thomas to let him go through homeschool faster and enroll in the public school earlier. 

Green Creek only had one school for all grades, so he’d be in the same school as Carter and Kelly, and Ox.

“Mom, I’m already done with my coursework for the month, I could easily finish this year and next in time to start school Kelly,” Joe’s knee bounced with excess energy. “I’d be a few grades lower, but we’d all be together.”

Elizabeth hummed as if in thought, “I don’t think so Joe, we had both Carter and Kelly wait until they were twelve.”

“Can I at least speed up my coursework to join Kelly’s grade when I’m twelve?” Joe was ready to beg, all he wanted was to spend more time with his brothers and Ox.

He watched as his mom’s face twisted, she didn’t want to tell him no, but also didn’t think agreeing would be best for him. “I’ll think about it,” She hedged as she wiped off her paint brush.

Joe sighed and resisted the urge to throw a fit, he helped her clean up as she deemed this work finished. He stayed quiet through their casual, comfortable routine and left her to pack everything away when it was time for Carter and Ox to get home from school.

Elizabeth watched the resolute way he held his shoulders and knew he wouldn’t stop pestering until they gave a definite answer. She needed to talk to Thomas.

Elizabeth slid the box she kept her supplies in onto its shelf and went to find Thomas.

As expected, he was on the phone in his office. He glanced up when she opened the door.

“Yes, yes, I understand there’s a want for it, but it’s completely unnecessary and I’m tired of going over the same things with you,” Thomas leaned against Elizabeth where she stood near his desk chair. “That’s enough Osmond, I am going to have dinner with my family, and I will call back tomorrow with more information. But right now, I’m not going to make a decision. So have a nice night.”

Thomas hung up the phone with a weary sigh.

“Rough day?” Elizabeth ran her fingers through his hair, her nails lightly scratching his scalp.

“Rough week, Osmond is letting the smaller packs’ alphas lead him and his opinions,” Thomas rumbled with relief at the massage. “Getting better now, though.”

Elizabeth laughed, “Not for long, Joe is trying to get into school early. Wants to enroll with Kelly next year.”

“Uh oh, he’s interested in learning? Can’t have that.”

“Thomas, I’m serious, we made the rule to protect them,” She lightly smacked his arm. “We can’t just bend them because Joe’s the baby.”

“Except, they would all be in school together, and it might help him open up even more,” Thomas smoothed his hand around Elizabeth’s hip and looked up at her with his chin still on her stomach. “We also decided that when everyone was home all the time, but with Cater and Kelly in school too it’ll be lonely here for him.”

“We’re here,” Elizabeth pointed out, clearly pouting.

“Yes, but we aren’t his brothers,” Thomas laughed. “He should spend time with the people from town, it’ll help him build the pack.”

Elizabeth grumbled under her breath that he was right.

“Huh? What was that? I didn’t quite hear you.”

“Quit your teasing, you are right, okay.” Elizabeth pulled Thomas until he was standing so she could curl against his chest. “I just don’t think it should be so soon. Maybe when he’s ten? So two more years and if he really wants to, he can use that time to catch up to Kelly?”

“I can agree to that,” Thomas wrapped his arms around Elizabeth.

x-x-x-x

Thomas stood in the middle of the clearing in the forest behind his house. He looked up toward the trees and basked in the sense of home. Joe stood a little behind and to the right of him, curious at being called out into the middle of the woods.

“My father used to tell me of what it was like before the humans found out what we were, of the peace our kind knew, of our connection as Bennetts to the ground we walk on, to the trees surrounding us.” Thomas turned to look at Joe. “We are unlike other alphas, other wolves. The Bennett family is tied to Green Creek. Magically. The soil here, the life it breathes into the people that live here, is tied to the pack. More in that we gain something from it, than it gaining something from us.”

Thomas moved toward a large sprawling tree and placed his hand on the bark.

“The magic in Green Creek is more natural, more abundant than anywhere else, and it is vaguely sentient in it’s affiliation with our family, as though our ancestors are watching over us and providing their protection. Though, my father believed it was more ethereal than that I’d disagree.

“Nature is the source of otherworldly entities, and nature is the source of magic. Gordo uses natural made forces to aid his spells. This connection is the source of the power needed to be the Alpha of All, but not the answer to all. It’s the source of the bonds we make, of the connection and bond we have that keeps us tied to our wolves.”

Joe sat down with his legs crossed and watched his father pace the edge of the clearing. 

“You have a couple years still, until your first shift. But at only eight, I’d still like you to have more information about what’s happening, about your heritage. Eventually, you will be the one to step up and take my place, and I would like to teach you how to be an alpha and what it actually entails before that happens. So we’ll probably start coming out here more often.”

Thomas smiled at Joe and joined him in the grass, legs straight out in front of him.

“A lot of things are mentioned around you offhandedly like you already know them, and you very well might, but just for the sake of clarity, I would like to start at the beginning. We are werewolves-”

Joe cut him off with a bubbling laugh, “Sorry, sorry, go ahead.”

Thomas gave him a knowing look, “Of werewolves there is a somewhat caste system, those who are stronger, prone to leadership, are alphas. Then there are those who are less so are known as betas, like Carter and Kelly. Finally, those who have lost their ties to their humanity are the omegas, who are driven purely by a beast-like instincts and no longer have rational, logical thought.

“Wolves, at their first shift form a bond to help hold onto their humanity. To keep them grounded and sane. This is the only thing keeping wolves from turning into an omega. Now that bond, that tangible connection, can be anything from a specific person, to a general idea of something like pack or family, or an emotion. Wolves generally have one tie to hold them together, and a general sense of pack. Some may even have multiple tethers.

“For me, I’m tethered to this pack, every one of you is what holds me together. If a wolf lost their tether, like if they were tied to a specific person, they may change their tether and move on, or it may devastate them to the point of becoming an omega. There is no way to tell if a certain bond is better, or if one is more likely to keep you together. They form naturally and without active thought as you go through your first shift.” 

Joe was mesmerized. His father continued to talk and explained the process of the first shift and what to expect. He hung onto every word, extremely proud to be his father’s second, his alpha son. He only wished he could share it with Ox.

They stayed out in the woods for hours, Joe didn’t realize just how long until the sun had almost set and the crickets got too loud to bear. 

“Oh, shoot! I missed Ox!” Joe scrambled to his feet and without another word to his father, ran toward the little blue house at the base of the hill and knocked on the door.

Maggie, Ox’s mom, answered the door with an amused smile. “Yes? Hello Joe, how can I help you?”

“Hi, Mrs. Mattheson! I was busy practicing with my dad that I missed Ox when he got home, could I come in to see him? Just for a few minutes?” Joe breathed heavily to catch his breath, just slightly winded from running so far and from talking in a rush.

“Sure,” Maggie barely had time to step aside as Joe ran around her legs and up the stairs to Ox’s room. Her laughter followed him and caused Ox to open his door.

It was the perfect timing for Joe to jump and hug Ox when he stepped out. Ox caught him with a laugh.

“Hey, Joe.”

“Ox! Sorry I missed you after school!” Joe buried his face in Ox’s chest.

Ox rubbed a hand over Joe’s back, “It’s okay.”

And Joe believed him, the words bounced around his head. It’s all he needed.

x-x-x-x

The Bennetts were lounging in the living room together after dinner, separate in their tasks but together as a pack, as a family, late one evening in the middle of the week. Joe was sitting with his back to the couch on the floor with his head against Kelly’s shoulder and his legs over Carter’s where he was laying in the middle of the floor.

A soft knock startled them, no one was supposed to come over. Joe perked up at the smell coming through the cracks in the door. His favorite smell, his favorite person. 

Ox.

He jumped up and half ran to the door to avoid being yelled at and yanked the door open. Then grin pulling at his lips fell away at the look Ox had.

His shoulders were slumped and up close, with the door open, his smell had a soft wilt to it that Joe had never experienced before. Something was wrong.

“Ox? What’s wrong?” Joe grabbed Ox’s hand and pulled him to the living room, to his brothers so they could sit with him and comfort him.

“My dad left.” Ox leaned heavily on Joe’s shoulder and let Carter lean on his side, while Kelly sat between Carter and Ox’s legs.

“Where’d he go?”

Ox looked pained, “I don’t know.”

“Will he be back?”

Ox sighed when Thomas rested a hand on his shoulder and Elizabeth brushed a hand through his hair. “No.”

“That bastard!” Carter bristled.

“Carter, watch your mouth,” Elizabeth reprimanded. “Did he say something, sweetie?”

“I don’t think I’m supposed to tell you,” Ox sounded worried, his heart rate spiked.

“That’s okay, we’re here for you either way,” Thomas squeezed his shoulder. “And if you change your mind, you can always talk to me.” 

Ox visibly relaxed and sagged further in to the dogpile of Bennetts surrounding him.

“Thank you, sir.” Ox breathed a little easier. “I have to ask Gordo for a job.”

They all waited in silence for Ox to possibly explain, gave him some space so he could feel comforted by their family, by the pack he was inadvertently joining. They knew it was what he needed, the time and space to give on his own terms.

“He and mom have been fighting about money,” Ox shifted closer to Joe. “I got home from Gordo’s as he was placing his luggage by the door, he was just gonna leave without a word, but now I’m the one left to tell mom.” Ox took in a deep breath. “He decided to sit me down on the front steps and tell me how people are gonna give me shit because I’m stupid and slow. He dropped a bomb on me and I don’t know if I can trust him or if I can tell anyone. He was one of the few people I knew I could rely on, but no, he’s leaving and I have to step up and help my mom, so she doesn’t drown herself in work.”

Joe stared at Ox in shock and wonder, that was the most Ox had ever said at once and the fastest he’d ever gotten through a thought. His usual slow, soft pace was ten times faster and he was so much more animated in his heated frustrations. Ox’s hand had also fisted in Joe’s shirt and he only realized when Ox used it to leverage Joe into a tight, warm hug.

Joe wrapped his arms around Ox’s shoulders, buried his face in Ox’s neck, and sent comforting vibes through the pack bond because the spike in emotion because of Ox’s unusual behavior was sure to reach Gordo and Mark.

They stayed like that, wrapped together as a family, comforting Ox, until Maggie’s beat up Toyota lit up their front yard as she got home from work.

Thomas and Elizabeth walked over with Joe and Ox, still wrapped around each other, to explain what had happened and to offer Joe and Ox a little more time together.

Maggie looked upset, but wasn’t surprised which visibly angered Thomas.

They discussed what would happen briefly before tugging a sleeping Joe away from Ox to go home and tuck him in.

Ox hugged his mom for a long while just inside their front door.

x-x-x-x

Joe was at peace, he felt comfortable in his skin. Three years, one month, twenty-six days since Richard had taken him, since Gordo had saved him. A couple months later he’d found Ox, his best friend. 

If Joe wasn’t doing school work, he was waiting for Ox to get home or spending time with Ox. Any free second Elizabeth allowed him he was attached to Ox’s side. 

Even with their age difference, Ox didn’t mind. He was usually the rock at the center of Joe’s storm of a personality. His grounding center. 

Six years apart, personalities almost complete opposites. And yet still they were each other's best friend.

Carter and Ox were close, but no one could get between him and Joe.

Ox, who was slow, even mannered and patient, had no other friends, no other family. for him it was Maggie; Gordo and his boys at the shop; and the Bennetts. While Joe thought everything of Ox, wanted to give him everything he wanted. the also selfishly why glad to be able to commandeer so much of his attention.

"You're like a tornado ," Ox laughed.

Joe grinned at him. 

They were lying in the middle of Joe's favorite clearing in the woods behind their houses.

It's Ox's Birthday.

"I think you bring it out of me," Joe confessed, like it was a secret.

Ox hummed thoughtfully.

Joe looked over, Ox seemed more comfortable like he'd found his place, his home.

Gordo had given him a work shirt with his name embroidered on the front.

The look of pride Ox wore as he walked home from work outshone the sun.

Joe knew all Ox had wanted was confirmation that he belonged, that he could stay. All Joe wanted was to give him that. Wanted to return the favor even though Ox would never ask it of him. Wanted to cuneo7 happy, Ox was his best friend, and he wanted to give Ox the World.

Joe must've made a noise, because Ox's eyes burst open and they made brief eye contact.

Ox let out a breathless laugh. "I still can't believe Gordo gave me a shirt," the grinned, giddy with excitement.

"Yeah?" Joe prompted. "I woulda thought with all the special treatment he and Mark dote on you with, it'd be expected."

Ox's face lit up with his laughter, "Dote? Is that vocab word of the week?" 

"Hey, I know complex words," Joe gave an exaggerated pout, "And it was last week's."

Ox's laughter echoed through the forest as they headed back home to make it in time for dinner.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little build up, Joe gets to see some other!Ox. But not much. Soon, we will see more!  
> This also includes Joe's first shift, which is a little detailed in how much it hurst, if that's not for you, I'm sorry!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This also includes Joe's first shift, which is a little detailed in how much it hurst, if that's not for you, I'm sorry!

Sprawled across his bed, ten year old Joseph Bennett clutched a stone statue in his right hand. Smoothing his thumb over the wolf figure's back, he thought of the talk he'd just had with his father. 

"The talk" was given to all young, soon to shift, werewolves. It explained the process of tethering and the tradition of giving away the statue to a wolf's selected mate, partner, other half. Of giving a physical reminder for any feelings a wolf might have for another, gave a promise for more. Promise for a future. 

The thought of giving away the stone wolf, of giving away his heart, brought him back to his first memory. The smell of candy canes and pine cones. Of epic and awesome. 

Well, maybe not his first memory, but definitely the most important. 

His thoughts brought him to Oxnard, his best friend. The source of his favorite smell. The family's next door neighbor.

Ox.

Joe knew in his gut, in his bones, that he'd give the statue to Ox. He had to. Even if Ox was a human, was unaware of half of the Bennetts' lives. Unknowing of the meaning, the promise behind the gift, Joe still needed to give it to him. He wasn't entirely sure where the need, the desire, came from. But he wasn't planning on going against his intuition. Especially when the timing was so right. Ox's birthday was coming up.

Joe couldn't wait. 

He launched off the bed and bounded downstairs. Barrelling into the kitchen he excitedly bounced around his mom.

"Mom! I need a box, do we have any? And a ribbon?" He vibrated with too much energy. 

"I think we have some gift wrap supplies in the attic," Elizabeth put down what she was working on to help him.

Joe beat her upstairs and already had the ladder pulled down for the attic when she caught up to him. She laughed and climbed the ladder the reach the container of supplies, kept within reach because of how often they celebrated. Joe all but snatched it away from her in his haste to get back downstairs. He placed the container on the dining table and kneeled on a chair to see over the edge as he rummaged through the contents, looking for the perfect packaging.

Elizabeth stood in the doorway between the dining room and kitchen and watched Joe work excitedly. She laughed quietly at his soft exclamations when he found something he liked. Times like this she had a hard time reconciling who her son had become and who he was before.

Before the incident. Even after. He’d gone through more than enough already.

Joe couldn't speak after, the shock of being so young, of being taken from his home, in his own territory. That was before Ox. The summer before Carter started public school. And then it was like a switch had been triggered. Ox crashed into their lives and Joe latched on. Wholeheartedly. Elizabeth knew where it would lead and she hoped for the best. Whatever made them happy.

Joe carefully wrapped the statue in tissue paper and placed it in a small box. Clearly struggling to tie a ribbon around it to keep it closed, Elizabeth stepped up to help but he wouldn't let her get close enough. He finally got the box to cooperate when Thomas came in.

He gave Elizabeth a knowing look and smiled at Joe but kept walking past them and into his office. 

Joe rolled his eyes at his father's antics and gripped the box tightly. Beaming with pride, and vibrating with too much energy, Joe bounced his way out of the house and down the driveway to greet Ox as he came home from work. He was early, but he didn't have to wait long. Joe could smell him coming closer. Alone, Joe thanked whatever forces existed. 

He allowed himself to relax and leaned against the tree by their mailboxes, knowing Ox was the best part of Joe. He was about to make it better. He closed his eyes and waited for the crunching of leaves to get closer.

When the sound stopped in front of him, Joe allowed his eyes to open. Finally able to see Ox after his newfound, and determined, plan. He basked in the warmth that radiated off Ox's large body like a dog in a sunny clearing. Breathing in a heavy sigh, just to get more Ox, he grabbed Ox's wrist and pulled him into the forest. Heading for the clearing he went to for Alpha training with Thomas. He knew they'd be left alone after what Elizabeth and Thomas saw. 

Ox's deep chuckling laughter at his own surprise bubbled through Joe, gave him fuel to a fire he didn't know the source of. Ox was still smiling when Joe stopped in the middle of the clearing and turned to look at him. He cradled the box in both hands.

"I know it's early, but I want you to have this," Joe held his hands toward Ox. "I can't wait."

Ox is visibly startled as he gently took the box. He opened it slowly, reverently. His soft gasp would never leave Joe's thoughts.

"Joe," Ox breathed. Like he was overwhelmed, like he knew what it meant. "It's beautiful." But he couldn't.

"Yeah?" Joe tried to keep the hope out of his voice. 

Ox smoothed his thumb in the same pattern Joe had hours previously. A small smile tagged at his lips. "Yeah, Joe. I love It."

Joe let himself laugh in relief and forced himself to wait long enough for Ox to package his gift back up before tackling Ox with a fierce hug. Ox caught him with his arms around Joe's waist.

Normally, when Joe tackled someone, they would be on the ground, but not Ox. He had always been special. A little slow and more often quiet than anything else, but the aura around Ox was unlike anything the Bennetts had ever seen. Joe was proud of him, and his own choices. Ox would always be his best friend.

x-x-x-x

Joe sat on the front porch and watched as the sun rose over the treeline behind Ox's house. He couldn't sleep the previous night, too much excitement coursed through him. He was starting public school that morning, if the day would ever start. With Ox.

Lights turned on in Ox's house and he could hear Carter and Kelly waking up in the house behind him.

Finally. 

He’d been waiting, already dressed, for at least the past hour. Joe was afraid he might vibrate out of his own skin before Ox even woke up.

He got up and bounded across his hard to meet Ox and walk the rest of the way with him.

“Ox!” Joe bounced around Ox. “Are you ready? I’m so excited to start school!”

“Yeah,” Ox yawned. “I’ve never seen someone so excited for school.”

“Get used to it,” Joe beamed. “Because we go to the same school, and get to spend more time together!”

“You do know I’m like four grades ahead of you, right?” Ox laughed softly.

“Yeah and?”

“That means we’ll have different teachers and different classes to go to,” Ox sat on the front steps to wait on Carter and Kelly.

“Oh,” Joe deflated. “So we won’t get to see each other all day?”

“Well, there is lunch and if we have free periods, but pretty much,” Ox wrapped an arm around Joe’s shoulders when he slumped onto the steps next to him. “Hey, it’ll be okay. It’s just a few hours, and then I have work and then? All the time you want, I’ll be there.”

“Really? All I want?” Joe looked like he’d just been given a puppy. 

“Absolutely,” Ox squeezed Joe with a laugh.

School wasn’t at all what Joe had anticipated. It was boring compared to the online homeschooling courses his mom signed him up for, and these grunge-y skater dudes kept harassing him because he was younger than the rest of the class.

“So, you’re the last Bennett boy?” The taller of the three crowded him into the bathroom.

“Yeah,” Joe tried to bow up and face him, but he was smaller than all of the bullies so it didn’t help. “Can I help you with something?”

“Oh, sure,” One of the skater lackies cackled. “We were wondering who your queer brother was fucking last, so we can out him.”

Joe’s entire being filled with rage. Before he could do anything Ox was there, towering over everyone. An animalistic growl escaped Ox and the bullies cowered in fear.

“If you so much as look at Joe, Kelly, or Carter again I will personally tear your heart out through your mouth,” Ox was uncharacteristically angry. Normally gentle and sweet, but Joe knew he didn’t take well to someone messing with his people.

Pride flooded Joe as the bullies scampered out of the bathroom.

“I really didn’t need your help,” Joe pointed out as Carter and Kelly burst in to the bathroom. “A little late to the party guys, Ox already took care of it.”

Ox looked at the brothers quizzically but didn’t say anything or explain himself. With a shrug, he gave Joe one last once over and left the bathroom to go back to class.

Frankie was the only decent person in their class, he was funny and helped time go a little faster in the classes they shared. He trailed behind when he, Carter, and Kelly squished into Ox on their walk between classes or to lunch.

He was there to fill the gap when Ox wasn’t around, he was nice enough that Joe didn’t mind.

A month goes by faster than Joe expected, especially with how boring public school turned out to be. He was starting to regret pushing to start early, but he can’t back out now.

Frankie wants to try out for the soccer team, he played last year, and Joe isn’t interested in any particular sport. If he was honest with Frankie, he’d say soccer was boring and he felt like it’d be just as boring as not playing the sport. But he was also thinking of taking up a sport to waste time while Ox was at work.

“Alright, I’ll join you,” Joe sighed.

Frankie grinned at him and they went to meet up with his brothers at Ox’s locker. 

The rest of the day crawled by and tryouts go so fast Joe’s thrown when he’s packed up and walking over to Gordo’s to meet Ox.

Who is sitting in the lobby with some girl.

Joe goes into Gordo’s office.

“Who is Ox with?”

“Tanner’s little sister, she’s Ox’s age,” Gordo barely looks up from one-finger-typing numbers into a beat up computer older than Carter.

Joe sighed, tired and ready to hang out with his best friend. His favorite way to recharge, emotionally.

He assumed Gordo doesn’t have anything else to say with his full focus on the computer, and left him to pry Ox away so they can go home.

“Ox!” Joe ignores the girl. “I made the team!”

Ox laughed and stood to catch Joe as he tackled him. “Nice!”

“You ready to go home?”

“Uh, right,” Ox looks over to the girl. “Sorry, Jessie I really do gotta go. It was nice meeting you. I can show you around school tomorrow?”

Joe watched Ox’s cheeks turn pink.

“That sounds good, thank you,” The girl, Jessie, smiled up at Ox and gave Joe a small wave before heading to the back of the shop.

Joe bounced around Ox in his excitement, soccer was apparently more fun to play than to watch. 

He rambled excitedly about the tryouts and how he and Frankie made the team, lost himself in filling Ox in that he forgot all about Jessie.

Until the next morning when he told the Bennetts he’d promised to show her around.

Joe was confused by the change in their routine but stayed close to Ox and Kelly.

They walked through the halls and mostly Carter and Jessie were the ones talking with soft interjections from Ox and the occasional correction from Kelly when Carter exaggerated a little too much.

Ox’s face was a permanent flush and Joe couldn’t figure out why, or what it meant. 

Joe chose to ignore how weird they were being and animatedly talked around them to Frankie about practice the following week.

The rest of the day went by like any other, except lunch when Jessie joined them. But that too became normal after a while.

Especially because Ox asked Jessie out, whatever that meant. Joe had no idea until Ox told him they couldn’t hang out after work that Friday. Due to his date?

Joe wasn’t sure what was happening, but he wanted his best friend back. Not that he was different, but Ox had even less time to hang out.

Joe felt like he was being left behind.

x-x-x-x-x

Less time with Ox meant more time with Frankie and on soccer. He was getting the hang of the footwork.

He missed lazy afternoons with Ox. Missed the wind in their hair as they laughed at nothing. Missed the grass between his fingers as Ox worried about his mom. Missed Ox’s fingers in his hair as he laid his head on Ox’s lap and they just basked in each other’s presence. 

Missed when Ox didn’t smell like her. 

Joe was bitter about it and in the few times they got to see each other would take out his anger on Ox. Who didn’t deserve it but Joe didn’t know what his emotions meant and they were too large to tackle by himself. 

It didn’t dawn on Joe until Ox caught him and Frankie in his room.

They were studying for their english midterm when Frankie stopped for a break and was just listening to Joe ramble. 

Joe paused in confusing to ask, “What’s up?”

Then Frankie blushed and kissed him out of the blue.

Exactly when Ox happened to walk in. And promptly walked right back out. 

What the fuck was that, Joe screamed in his head more confused. 

“Frankie? What?” Joe could barely think. All of it was too quick too much.

“Um, I thought-”Frankie cut himself off. “Nevermind, forget about it. I have to go. See you at school.” He practically ran out. 

Joe sat there dumbfounded until the door slammed. 

_Ox. Oh, shit. Ox!_ Joe ran down the stairs, through the front door and to the blue house at the bottom of the hill. 

He pounded hs fist against the door, “Ox!”

The door opened and Joe almost fell through. 

“That wasn’t what it looked like!” Joe burst with the need to explain himself. He couldn’t be on Ox’s bad side, didn’t know if theat was possible. But the risk was too great. 

“What?” Ox looked as confused as Joe felt. “With Frankie? It’s fine, you can date, Joe.”

“What? Oh,” Joe almost felt like he’d never known anything in his life, he couldn’t wrap his head around what was happening.

Ox smiled, “I thought you’d want to be alone.” With a shrug he gesture for Joe to follow him in.

“He went home.” Joe wanted to change the subject, wanted to bask in Ox’s attention. In his smell. 

x-x-x-x-x

This was not good.

Joe didn’t know when it started. But it was definitely not good.

He was crushing on Ox. His best friend.

And Frankie’s kiss is what made him fully realize it. He couldn’t believe himself. But it made sense. the need to be around him all the time, his smell, being jealous of Jessie. It all made sense. 

Ox would never feel the same. 

But he took his wolf. 

But he didn’t know what it really meant.

“Shit,” Joe whispered to himself and buried his head beneath his pillow. 

Ox could never know. He’s human.

x-x-x-x-x

Joe had just turned twelve and the full moon was coming up. Thomas seemed more excitable than usual and would drag Joe on frequent, long trips through the woods. 

It felt like the biggest day of his life was approaching, but also felt dull when he couldn’t share it with anybody.

Ox could tell something was happening, but didn’t ask. 

The night of, Ox didn’t come over like he normally would, Thomas giving some excuse of family tradition. Not a total lie, but it felt that way when Ox left them to it, happily waving and promising to come over the next day. 

It was summer, so nightfall came late, it was well after nine by the time the sun had fully set.

Joe followed his family, his nerves on alert with giddy energy. He could smell Gordo’s magic as he cast wards around the clearing. Protection for Joe. Protection for everyone else. He knew the purpose, felt there was no need, but he couldn’t be sure.

He walked the the partition in the wards before Gordo closed him in. Just in time, Joe could feel it pressing just below his skin, pushing out, stretching his skin.

He almost doubled over in pain when the moon came out from behind the trees. He could feel his family through the pack bond, could feel them trying to get to him. Trying to help.

But he needed to go through this, needed to step up and become the alpha he was expected to be. Wanted to be.

He felt like his body was tearing itself apart, ripping his skin and muscles away for the gooey middle to spill on the ground. His breath came in harsh pants, his hands fisting in his shorts. He could feel his nails individually sharpen into claws, his hair individually thicken and grow longer. All his senses were heightened and focused solely on the pain, ripping through his whole body. Creating something new from the wreckage. 

Joe lost his sense of time, couldn’t feel the pack anymore, couldn’t care. It was too much. He couldn’t get his bearings. It was all too quick and too slow at once.

His bones crunched and popped painfully relocating his limbs. Pushing him to fall on what were then paws, but previously were his hands. His eyes closed as his face and skull stretched painfully into a snout, his jaw elongating and his tongue pulled thin. Even his ears stretched in the most painful way possible. 

Everything was in pain, his body stretching into a whole new anatomy. Even his thoughts turned into something other than human. Based mostly on instinct and what he could smell. But that was muddled by the pain radiating through every part of him. It was starting to define him, like all that he was, could be, and wanted to be was only pain. 

He lost track of all the changes happening, slow and agonizing changes. He knew somewhere in the back of his mind that he had too tether his humanity to something, someone, but the only thing he could think of was his skin tearing and healing itself as he writhed on the ground. 

And then it stopped. Like someone pressed pause to his pain. He could smell Ox before he could see him.

He’d pushed through the wards to sit next to Joe. His hand pressed into Joe’s fur. He was silent, yet Joe could _feel_ him. A bond. His tether.

_His._

Joe could finally breathe, and smell, and feel the pack. Though they were muffled through the ward, he could hear them baying to get to him, to make sure he was okay. But Joe had never felt better. It was like everything was meant for him and him alone. Ox’s presence alone soothed every frayed nerve and every pained thought until it was just lovepackmatebrotherfamily.

Joe pressed into Ox’s side and let out a happy howl. His brothers joined him in celebration and his parents harmonized for the pack. 

Ox’s happy laughter, like he could feel their happiness gave Joe the energy he needed to bust through Gordo’s ward and run with his pack. Including Ox.

x-x-x-x-x

Thomas took Ox out into the woods alone, and Joe bounced in anticipation on the front porch for them to come back. Ox was getting the talk from his dad. The you can be a werewolf talk. Ox had spent the whole week at the Bennett house, only going home to eat with Maggie if she had the night off before coming back. The pack felt as though a new life had been breathed into it. It was fresh and exciting. 

Ox absorbed everything they told them with few questions and little confusion. It was like a part of him already knew, part of him had already accepted a place in their pack. 

Joe was vibrating with the realization that Ox could have guessed what the wolf statue meant, but didn’t want to push him too far. 

He didn’t have to wait long after pushing thoughts of the statue away for them to emerge from the tree line. 

Joe bounced up and ran to them.

“Well? How’d it go?” Joe jumped on Ox’s back, who caught him with little struggle.

“It was good,” Ox said with a small smile. 

Thomas smiled back and nodded in agreement as he headed back inside. 

Joe was about to grill Ox when a beat up old truck drove up and a girl hopped out of the cab.

“Ox!” Jessie called.

“Oh,” Ox said, watching as she walked halfway to them and pointed at the blue house. “I gotta see what she needs, I’ll talk to you later Joe.”

Ox ruffled his hair and jogged to meet Jessie. Joe watched as Ox walked her to his house.

Joe was confused by the interaction, the tension rolling off Jessie was new.


End file.
